Edward Nalbandian and Harlem Desir discuss Karabakh conflict

The press office of the Armenian Foreign Ministry has told ArmInfo
that the meeting covered the Armenia- EU cooperation as well. The
sides also discussed the current stage of the Karabakh peace process,
stressing the importance of implementing the agreements reached in
Vienna and St. Petersburg.

To recall, the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met in
Saint Petersburg on June 20 2016 at the behest of Vladimir Putin.
Reaching a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the
subject of discussion at the meeting, which took place behind closed
doors. Following the consultations, the presidents of Russia,
Armenia and Azerbaijan adopted a joint statement reaffirming their
commitment to normalizing the situation on the line of contact and
giving their approval to an increase in the number of OSCE observers
working in the conflict zone. The joint statement also expresses the
parties' commitment to putting in place the conditions required for
steady progress in negotiations on a political settlement to the
conflict. The presidents made a point of their regular contacts on
Karabakh and agree to continue them in such format as addition to the
efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs who were invited to the
final stage of the meeting in St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev said that the investigative mechanisms at the
present stage of the settlement are irrelevant and the issue can be
discussed after "withdrawal of Armenian troops from the NKR". He also
stressed that the Office of the OSCE CiO Personal Representative can
be expanded by no more than 12-13 people.